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Wednesday, October 08, 2008

The Root Features Project 21 Commentary on Green Policies Hurting Blacks' Bottom Line

By David Almasi:

As cooler weather approaches, there are indications that it is going to be both a cold and expensive winter. Scientifically-monitored sunspot activity and the wise Farmer's Almanac both predict it will be cooler than normal, and the federal government is predicting the cost of heating a home will be a lot higher.

Already earning less than the average American household, black and brown households will take the biggest hit unless something is done - now and over the long-term - to bring down energy prices.

Project 21 Deneen Borelli has a new commentary that was published today on The Root, a black-focused web site jointly operated by The Washington Post and Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. of Harvard University.

Deneen points out how policies promoted by radical environmentalists and their political allies on Capitol Hill are keeping us from tapping into America's rich natural resources and freeing our nation from foreign energy dependence:

Failing schools, crime and single-parent households are just a few of the challenges facing urban communities. Now, thanks to radical environmentalists and their supporters, a bunch I like to call "Club Green," they must face soaring energy as well...

Despite the hype about wind power and boasts about other renewable energy sources, 85 percent of our nation's energy comes from fossil fuels. Energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar only currently provide about 7 percent of our power and cannot replace fossil fuels anytime soon.

In its September 2008 report, the federal Energy Information Agency predicted a 25 percent rise in heating oil prices and a 17 percent rise in natural gas prices this winter as well as a 9.5 percent projected increase in electricity costs in 2009. Adding to that, gasoline still hovers near $4 a gallon, and the public demands more domestic energy production. A recent Rasmussen poll of likely voters found that 67 percent supported new offshore fossil fuel exploration.

Our nation is blessed with an abundant supply of natural resources. The problem is that Congress, at the demand of Club Green, blocks access to these resources at the peril of families.

This post was written by National Center for Public Policy Research Executive Director David Almasi. To send comments to the author, write him at [email protected]. Please state if a letter is not for publication or if you prefer that it be published anonymously.